Jace and Maddy deserved it. Jace was one of his best friends, plus they worked together. And Maddy was so sweet she gave him a toothache—but in the best way possible. Not a pairing he’d have seen from a mile away, but it definitely worked. Humanized Jace, which was something he’d needed.
Maybe Colt would find that someday too.
Angie’s older model BMW sat in the driveway. The metal still creaked from the engine compartment as it cooled, which meant she hadn’t been there long. Colt drew in a breath and gripped the bottle of wine he’d brought before walking up to the front door and ringing the bell.
The door swung open and Jace stood there. “Hey, man, glad you could make it.”
Colt arched an eyebrow. “You might have mentioned there was an ulterior motive,” he said, low enough that Maddy and Angie wouldn’t overhear.
Jace gave a small shake of his head. “Strict orders from my lady. No can do.”
“Fine. Here’s a bottle of wine, traitor.”
Jace laughed and held the door open wider. “Come on in. You can handle it.”
He could. He wasn’t sure Angie could. He hadn’t seen her since New Year’s Eve in this very house when she’d kissed him at midnight. It hadn’t been a particularly sexy kiss, but it had certainly rocked his brain and left him aching. Just a simple press of her luscious lips against his, and he’d dreamed of her for days.
He walked inside and shrugged out of his coat. Jace took it and hung it on the hall tree. They actually had a small entry hall now. It was one of the renovations they’d done to make the house more modern and livable for their lives together.
Colt followed Jace into the open living area. The kitchen had been expanded and opened up. There was a big island where a wall had once been and you could see all the way into the kitchen now. Maddy was busy taking something out of the oven. Angie perched on a chair by the island, twirling a glass of wine between her fingers, and talking to Maddy.
She looked up when he walked in with Jace. Colt could see her entire body stiffen, and a wave of disappointment washed over him. Whatever the reason, she still wasn’t comfortable around him. Wasn’t ready to let anything happen between them.
“Hello, ladies,” he said as Maddy came around the island all smiles, arms open.
“Hi,” Angie said as Maddy enveloped him in a hug.
“Colt, I’m so glad you could make it! I know it was short notice but I didn’t want all these leftovers and I thought, well, who else could help us eat this roast? So I came up with the two of you.”
“I’m glad you called me. You know I love a home-cooked meal.”
Maddy was all smiles as she went back to the stove to stir something. “Have a seat. It’ll be ready in a few.”
Angie’s beautiful green eyes met his for a second and then she dropped them to her glass. Colt’s gut twisted—and then he decided what the hell. She clearly didn’t care for him, so he wasn’t about to twist himself up in knots trying to be nice.
“Want some wine?” Jace asked.
“Sure.”
“The one you brought, or the one Maddy opened?”
“Is it red?”
“It’s a Napa Valley cab.”
“Sounds good.”
Jace poured a glass and handed it to him. Colt took a seat at the bar and looked around the room. “I still can’t get over how much bigger this space is since you knocked out the wall and redid the kitchen.”
“Right?” Maddy said brightly. “And the floors! Who knew we’d fine that gorgeous heart pine beneath the carpet?”
“Uh, just about any renovation show on HGTV. Which I know you love watching,” Colt teased.
He hadn’t even known who Chip and Joanna were until he’d met Maddy. Now he knew all about shiplap and farmhouses, though Maddy wasn’t trying to turn this place into a farmhouse. She’d found another show apparently, one that was more about renovating older homes. Some couple in Mississippi named Ben and Erin. It pained him that he knew these things, but he did.
Maddy laughed. “Okay, you got me. I hoped we’d have hardwoods. I’m so glad we did—but I’d have gone shopping for antique flooring if they weren’t there.”
Jace rolled his eyes, but it was lovingly done. “Yeah, she would have. And she’d have dragged me with her. To every single architectural salvage store on the eastern seaboard.”
“Come on, it would have been fun.”
Jace dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Spending time with you is always fun. Even if it’s in antique stores.”
Maddy elbowed him and he laughed. Colt felt a pang of something sharp in his chest. Right in the middle, behind his ribcage. “Smells delicious in here, by the way,” he said. “Thanks again for inviting me.”
“Thank you. And you are always welcome. You know that.”
“I do.” And it meant more than she knew. Colt didn’t talk much about his life or where he was really from, but he remembered family dinners around his grand-mére’s table when he was a child. He’d felt such a sense of belonging back then. It’d all changed too soon, but that was life.
Maddy took a tray of rolls from the oven and began putting them in a basket she’d lined with a colorful cloth. “I think we’re ready, if you want to go to the table. Jace, can you carry the roast over and put it on that trivet? Thank you, honey.”
The round table with four chairs sat beneath a carefully aged chandelier. Angie looked up at him as they reached the table. This
